The first evening of that Resurrection Day, when the disciples were assembled with closed doors for fear of the Jews, suddenly the Lord stood in their midst and said "Peace be unto you." And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side.
How very glad the disciples must have been when they saw that their Lord was alive!
But Thomas was not with them when Jesus came that time; and when, afterwards, the others told him that they had seen the Lord, he said to them: "Except I shall see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, I will not believe!"
Jesus was not present when Thomas said all that, but He knew all about it, as you will see.
Eight days after, the disciples were again together in that upper room where they assembled, and Thomas was with them.
Then, though the doors were fast shut, Jesus came again and stood in the midst of them, and again He said "Peace be unto you."
Then He turned at once to Thomas, and said to him: "Reach hither thy finger, and behold My hands; and reach hither thy hand and thrust it into My side: and be not faithless, but believing.
"And Thomas answered and said unto Him, My Lord and my God!
"Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."
And the Apostle John ends that wonderful account with these words: "And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book: but these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing, ye might have life through His Name."